Method of packaging ice



Juny 16, 1935. y M, T, ZEIGLER www METHOD OF PACKAGING ICE Filed July 50, 1931 www -insures-anattheice` being cut and wrapped will ino y, package.

Patented July 16, 1935 f-PATAEN ME'rlrolroFY PACKAGING ICE` Maxwell .-T..Zeig1er,` Huntington Park, Calif.,assignor, bymesnejassignments, toA ZeiglerPack- AagedIce"Machin`ery Corporation, AHuntington Park,v Calif a Vcorporation ot California A `ApplicationJulyfo, 1931, serial No.' 554,141

vintofbloeks-iof -proper size, Swrapping the` blocks,

#and fastening `the wrapping material, `are-all fperformedfwithinf-an l atmosphere "the temperaturegof which is below the freezing point: ofthe materialof which-theice'is composed.y 'Ihis ""beidr-y,-andftherebyavoids danger of rusting the vcutting land wrapping machinery 'and of `harm- "ingtheftvrapping material bythe absorption of fmoisture.` f d A'ffurth'erfobject -is to provide a method' of L' wrapping refrigerated articles, i Vwhich includes material lby means of a suitable glue, andy aprsuitable bond between the-glued portionsbefore 'fthe glue is chilledto such aniL extent that it loses @its adhesive qualitiea enumerated; `will be set forth in `the following de- *135j companying and gforming a part f of the-specification;l

f"Referringto'the'drawing; y A, V A

' ffFig;j1 is aperspective view"`f1`a'block of ice during lthe `initial stage'of the wrapping operation. 1

to one ofthe iaps of thefolded paper,

" l Fig. Bis a side elevationillustrating the meth- .od` of "applying heat` to the glued, portions of the i Fig. '4 is a perspective View `showing acompleted package. f l `;`Th e herein describedmethodof packagingice and otherfrefrigerated articles has been devell oped primarily inV coni .unctio'n` Vwith',y the 'develop ment ,of the ice Wrapping machine forming the subject vmatter `of .my copending application,

serian No. 554,142', med 'June 30,1; 193.1.fa1th0ugh j y y V M againstV the ends l f3 of "the block, forming l upperx55 the present method is also capable ef'beingcarfl'hexinvention possesses otherl objectsfandf ad- `vantageous featurespsome of which, with those posed. the working temperature at which thepresent `process. of packaging is performedis .between f y .Y Y twenty-five and twenty-eight Fahrenheit degrees `40 l Eig .2 is a sideelevation of apartially `Wrapped y "blo',ck'of `ice showing Yone method Aofjapplying glue (ci. ias-2) Y ried Out by means of other machinesV and mannelly. l

In the `preferred method o fpracticing'gthe present invention, ice is'formed into preferably `rectamgiilarl,blocks of predetermined size and! .g5

Weight, thisbeing accomplished either by freezing the material of Which the ice is to be composed inmolds of suitable shape and capacity,A or bycutting larger blocks intoblocks of the proper size for marketing, or inV any other convenient .10

manner. ,Each block is then Wrapped in a suit- ,able `wrapping material, `which is then fastened in such a manner that thereis no danger that the Wrapping material Will become dislodged until the ice is desired for use, i. e., until the; con- 1.5

sinner l, purposely removes the wrapping. The

compartment, wherein the atmosphere isgmaintained at a temperature lower than the freezing 20 :point of the material of which thezice is composed, thereby preventing melting `of vthe ice fthe steps'of',--enc'slo'sing the article within-alsit- '-'ahleV wrapping; material, fastening the 1 wrapping C" 'e 1plying heat to `the gluedportions to establish a during'itsVpreparationffor marketing,

Fig. 1 illustrates a block 6 of ice which has previously been formedto theproper shape `andw25 rvis a suitable wrappingpaper-for example,` paper of the type .known in the trade as sixty poundz i, craft, this paperbeing particularly advantageous because of its comparatively -greatstrengthand toughness. `upoira suitable-support within an atmosphere the temperaturegof which is below the freezingx `point of I,the material of- Whichqthe ice; is com- 4In the case of ice made by freezing water,

above Zero. This .temperature of the atmosphere l withinwhich the packaging process is being perwformed is maintained .in anyv ,suitable manner,

such L.asby Lmeans ofy a'refrigerating machine,

the evaporating coils of `which are installed in 1 -ofipaper or the'like, the sheet is foldedup x50 about the sidesl 8 of theblockand the ends9iand |07 are theny folded down" upon the top ill `of `the block in overlapping relation. `Thecprojecting vside-edgesv l2 L4'of the paper are lthen'folded T 0I-FICE i The` sheetfl and block 6 are disposed the paper to be fastened together. Y have found thatY the application'of heat to the and lower end flaps I4 and I5 which are then folded downwards and upwards, respectively, against the ends of the block, in the order named. The iiaps I4 and I5 at each end of the block are also disposed in overlapping relation, preferably with the upper end of each lower flap I5 lying against the outer surface of the associated upper Aflap I4, as illustrated upon Fig. 4, which `shows the completed package. Preferably, theVv above described-folding operation is performed'in the manner, and by the machine, described in my aforesaid copending application.`

The folded paper 6 is retainedupon the block after completion of theffolding operation, pref-l erably by means of a suitable adhesive applied to predetermined portions of the paper. Forfexample, liquefied glue IS is applied to the under surface of the end Ill of the-paper, as indicated atv I '1, this being the end which is disposed against the outer surface of the other end 9, and also the under surfaces of the lower end flaps I5, as

indicated at I8. Whereas any suitable means for applying the' glue I6 may be employed, I prefer that a suitable quantity of the liquefiedglue be retained withinl a suitable receptacle IIS `adjacent the location at which the wrapping operation is being performed. This receptacle I9 is equipped with an electrical resistance element 20, to whichY current is supplied by means of conductors-ZI, so as to keep the supply of glue I6 at a higher temperature `than the surrounding atmosphere. vantageous, inasmuch as when the liqueed glue is permitted to cool to about theV freezing temperature, it tends toV loserits Yliquidity and its This has been found to be adadhesive qualities. The glue may be applied to the proper areas of the paper 'I by rollers such as that illustrated at 22. This roller 22 is carried by an arm 23 which is piv'otally mounted in such a manner that it may be dipped into the reservoir Y I9 to moisten the roller, and then raised to such ma position that the paper'brushes against the.`

roller as the paperV is being folded about the block, as illustrated upon Fig. 2.

Upon completion of the folding and gluing'opi erations, I'prefer to apply heat to the outside of Y the package over the areas to which the glue has been applied. lThis is accomplished by means of presser feet 24, each of'which is provided-with an electrical resistance 25.

(not shown) whereby they are pressed against the outside of the completed package in the proper places. The heat thus applied prevents the glue from being chilled to such an extent that it loses its adhesive qualities before the necessary bond is established between the portions-of However, I

glued portions of the package also expedites the Vdrying of the glue, probably because the heatkeeps the glue fluid until it is enabled to penef trate the fibers of the paper, thereby distributing the glue throughout a greater space than it oc- A cupied before such penetration, whereby more rapid evaporationl of the volatile constituents of Accordingly, the applicathe glue is possible. tion of heat to thewrapped package not-only facilitates the establishment of the necessary Y bond between different portions of the folded Y paper to retain the paper upon theblock 5, but it also serves to dry any drops-of glue which might be deposited upon theoutside of the package and develop the tendency to adhere to neighboring n These feet-*24 vare` carried by and operated by suitable mechanism packages after delivery from the wrapping machine.

Inasmuch as the present invention contemplates the preparation for marketing of ice for ordinary household use, the material composing the ice is preferably water, although other materials, such as carbon dioxide, may be used. The only change required in the process to accommodate adifferent material would be that it would melting during the time at which the process Y is beingperformed, Hence, the surface of the therefromis prevented. Thisl keeps the cutting and wrapping .machinery vperfectly dry, even though a large amount of cuttings, chips, and

the like are formed` by thecutting machine andi scattered. over both the c utting'and` wrapping y block Gis, kept dry, and allLdropping of moisture machines. 'I'hese particles of ice would melt very' rapidly owing to their small size were the surrounding atmosphere at -a higher' temperature,

and thus keep the machineryY very moist, 4causing it-to rust very rapidly. This is` positivelyprevented,`however, by the low temperature which keeps the machinery andthe packages., themselves perfectly More important than keeping; the machinery'` dry, however, is the featuregof also keepingV vthe wrapped package dry. It has been found to `be extremely undesirable to Wrap the blocks in an atmosphere above thefreefzing temperature, be-

cause the moisture from the melting ice soon penetrates the fibers of the paper wrapping, thereby reducing its strengthand toughness to such an extent that it is practically impossibleto handle the package, even to the extent necessary to complete the wrapping operation, without tear-V ing the paper and thus spoiling the package by exposing the ice thereinside. Y

My process makes itfpossible to enclose the blocks of ice completely before they are removed from the refrigerated compartment. I-Ience.` they paper wrapping playsfan important part in preventingthe rapid meltingof the ice after it is removed from the compartment by insulating the ice from the warmer atmosphere, which otherwise would `engage the ice and instantly start melting it. qualities of the type of wrapping material heref inabove set forthare so excellent that `the.com

pleted package can remain outsideV the refrigerated compartment for a considerable period of time before the ice melts to any appreciable extent. .This permits' a purchaser to transport the ice from the p'lace at which it is purchased rto a place at a` considerable distance therefrom,

without losing any appreciable quantity yo1.' ice!"V by melting. Moreover, what littleV moisture is produced by the limited melting of the ice, is confined withinthe' paper wrapping, so that it is much more convenient to handle the package than an unwrapped block of ice, which is veryl slippery and which is continually dripping.

Itis to be understood that the details of the invention as herein disclosed, are subject 4to alteration within the spirit or scope of the appendedv claims;

I have found that the insulatingV I claim: y

1. The method of wrapping ice which consists of placing a block of ice on a sheet of unwaterproofed craft paper in a sub-freezing atmosphere, wrapping the paper about the ice, applying heated adhesive between the layers of the Wrapping paper during the Wrapping, and applying heat and pressure to the portions of the wrapping paper to which the adhesive has been applied so as to deliver a sealed, Wrapped package.

2. The method of Wrapping ice which consists of placing a block of ice on a sheet of paper, wrapping the paper about the ice in a sub-freezing atmosphere, applying heated adhesive between overlapped layers of the wrapping paper during the Wrapping, and applying heat and pressurefto the outside of the package over the areas to which the heated adhesive has been applied,

and thusdelivering a sealed, wrapped package.

3. The method of Wrapping ice which consists of placing a block of ice on a sheet of unwaterproofed craft paper in a sub-freezing atmosthe heated adhesive has been applied, and thus A delivering a sealed wrapped package.

MAXWELL T. ZEIGLER. 

